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Women Empowered

Empowering black folks through film Frances-Anne Solomon

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BY SELINA McCALLUM

In April 2019, she was recognized and awarded the Black Business and Professional Association Harry Jerome Award for Culture, an award given to a black individual who is a change maker when it comes to enhancing Caribbean and African culture in the community.

That was the first time I was introduced to Frances-Anne Solomon, and had the pleasure of speaking to her briefly among all the other people that were congratulating her.

As a black female filmmaker myself, I was thrilled to be introduced to an ambitious, talented and highly experienced individual in the film industry.

Solomon is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, producer, curator, and entrepreneur in film, TV, radio, theatre, and news media.

Born in England of Trinidadian parents, she was raised and educated in the Caribbean and Canada before moving to Great Britain where she built a successful career with the BBC as a TV Drama Producer and Executive Producer.

She was an executive producer for both Love is the Devil by John Maybury, and Speak Like A Child by John Akomfrah. She also produced and directed films and television programs through her production company Leda Serene Films.

She moved to Toronto in 2000, where she continued to create, write, direct, and produce her own projects.

Her most recent project is her third feature film, HERO, which is inspired by the extraordinary life and times of Trinidad and Tobago citizen, diplomat and Judge Ulric Cross, the most decorated West Indian of World War II.

Solomon speaks about what inspired her to make this film.

“Ten years ago, my mother was approached by one of her friends who was a lawyer in Trinidad. He wanted her to help him make a film about one of their mutual friends which was Ulric Cross. My mom got involved, and really I think they wanted me to do it, but I was really busy at the time,” said Solomon.

Solomon’s mother’s friend was dying, but before he died he said his last wish was to know that the film was going to be made.

“So after his death, I got involved with my mother to do it. At the time, I didn’t know much about Ulric. I knew he served in the Second World War, but when I began to research his life, I discovered that after the war he had this incredible life,” said the Director of HERO.

Cross was a member of the highly decorated group of Caribbean pilots who flew combat missions for the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) in World War II. After his service, Cross played an active and important role in the Pan African Movement, which led to the creation of the 28 modern Caribbean and 54 modern African nations.

“The more research I did, I realized that all these places are amazing places. I became committed passionately to make this film a reality because a lot of people don’t know that story. They don’t know the role that the Caribbean diaspora and people of African heritage played in the African Liberation Movement. I found it very inspiring,” said Solomon.

Funded by Canada’s Telefilm and Trinidad’s Republic Bank, HERO has an all-star international cast that includes Trinidad and Tobago’s Nickolai Salcedo, in the lead role of Ulric Cross, alongside Canada’s Peter Williams (Stargate SG1), UK stars Joseph Marcell (Fresh Prince of Bel Air), Fraser James (Resident Evil), Pippa Nixon (John Carter), and Ghanaian superstars John Dumelo, Adjetey Anang and Prince David Oseia.

“It was an amazing experience working with all the incredible actors. Everybody was very excited about the project because, again, when do you get the chance to play the President of Tanzania?” said Solomon.

“They really appreciated the opportunity to play roles that were not drug dealers, gang members and criminals, but leaders, world changers and visionaries,” said the Director of HERO.

Solomon says that there are so many films about slavery, but none about bringing us all back together.

One of the challenges she faced in making this film was receiving funding at first for a film like this that has never been made before. The second challenge was ensuring that the history shown through the film was still entertaining.

“You can’t really talk about the whole story without understanding the African Liberation Movement, colonialism, and understanding how somebody from Trinidad can end up in Tanzania in 1974. So there’s a lot of history that needed to be integrated into it,” said Solomon.

HERO was launched in Toronto in February 2019, and had a very exciting journey in the United Kingdom. There was also a theatrical release which included 50 screenings across the country. It was also screened in Trinidad, in New York and in Washington, DC.

Now the Canadian filmmaker’s world tour stops in Los Angeles.

HERO will be the film screened on opening night of the Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020, at the Directors Guild of America Theatre.

PAFF is the largest black film festival in America with approximately 200 films from around the world and 100 fine artists participating in the largest Black History Month cultural event in the United States.

The festival will be held from February 11th to February 23rd, 2020, at the Cinemark Rave 15 Theaters and the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles.

“To be selected as the opening film for this prestigious festival is an honour,” says Solomon. “It’s a go-to event for black Hollywood and to be recognized in this way by an audience of my peers is important to me as a Caribbean filmmaker of African descent.”

PAFF’s legacy is evidenced by the success of directors and award-winning actors and actresses who’ve spotlighted their work at the festival, including names as Denzel Washington, Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, and Ava Duvernay.

Most filmmakers seek to arouse emotions in their audience. They want the viewers to leave from the screening feeling different from how they walked in, or gain a new perspective.

Solomon does just that, as she has been awarded many times for her previous empowering films.

Her film A Winter Tale received many prestigious international awards, including at Fespaco 2009 (Africa’s Oscars held biannually in Burkina Faso West Africa) where it won The Paul Robeson Award for Best Diaspora Film.

Currently, an award-winning filmmaker, producer, curator and entrepreneur, Solomon is also a 2019 member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is also the Founder and CEO of CaribbeanTales Media Group in Canada and Barbados that includes an international film festival and distribution company.

For other young black girls aspiring to be filmmakers, Solomon leaves these words of hope.

“There are opportunities,” said Solomon. “It’s still hard and there’s still lots of prejudice, but now is the time. There are endless opportunities.”

Selina is a recent Digital Journalism and Communication, Media and Film Graduate from the University of Windsor. While in university, she served as the Arts and Culture Writer for The Lance, as well as a writer, interviewing selected individuals for Street Voices Magazine. Her passions include: creative writing, film, and photography. Over the last four months, Selina has collaborated on a documentary exploring sex trafficking and the horrific elements that harbour the untold truths of human trafficking in Windsor/Detroit. She is a: hard working, responsible and caring individual who continues to seek new challenges.

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Women Empowered

Karen Samuels Giving the community the courage to share their stories

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By Sydnee Walcott

While killing two birds with one stone is challenging for some, one woman is defying those odds. 

Karen Samuels moved to Canada from Jamaica at the age of three. At a young age, it wouldn’t have been easy for her to describe the transition from one country to another. However, as an adult, she now views the transition as confusing.

Samuels had these feelings, because she felt she was losing her two central male role models present in her life. These two role models were her father and her late grandfather. Although she moved to Canada with her grandmother, she moved in with her mother, who had left her when she was six months old. This change made her feel like she was losing her grandmother as well.

Samuels describes she felt pushed towards having a relationship with a woman who was supposed to be a mother to her. Unfortunately, Samuels’s mother was never a mother to her. She never felt any love from her, and the love disappeared the moment she met her.

Samuels became a victim of colorism and featurism at the hands of her mother, and it played a role in her struggles with mental health. She knew there was a mental health issue when she was eight. However, she didn’t fully realize it until she turned 46.

Anxiety was the first mental health issue Samuels experienced. She would forget where she was and what she was doing. From there, it led to confusion because she didn’t talk about her issues with anger, lack of self-love, wanting to be someone else, and thinking she wasn’t worthy enough – all of this because of the lack of a mother’s love.

Years of professional therapy and understanding that it’s normal to find help is how Samuels overcame her struggles with mental health. She also uses her passions to help deal with her mental health struggles: staying physically active, maintaining an organized space, and music are some of her passions, and the ability to self-reflect has become a life changer for her. Cleaning helps her declutter the negative thoughts she has in her head. Going to the gym helps her release feelings. The most important one will be for her to acknowledge a problem and what she can do to overcome it.

The biggest thing she has done as a mental health advocate was to put herself on a platform and showcase relatability. Through this, Samuels has shown that not everyone who suffers from mental issues has an addiction or is incapable of moving past it.

She did not have any advocacy for mental health when growing up, so Samuels advocates for individuals who are dealing with mental health challenges; something that she wished would have been done for her when she was growing up.

“I had a lot of misconceptions on what anything mental meant,” said Samuels. She said there would be a lot of negative labels and stigmas she did not want to be associated with, and upon realization that these misconceptions were false, Samuels put herself out there for others to be able to see that anything was possible, it just took working on yourself. 

“We can get through this together,” she said.

Within the Black community, there is a stigma surrounding mental health. Samuels’ advice is for people to acknowledge that if something does not feel right, to deal with the feelings that come with it. Acknowledging a problem shows courage and strength. The weakness is when one hides it and doesn’t get help.

As a mental health advocate, she enjoys giving someone the courage to share their story and relate to them. Samuels would like to do more public speaking on mental health in any setting for people of all ages. She is also in the process of piecing together her story to share with the community.

As someone who grew up in the Jane and Finch area, Samuels likes to give back and prove not everyone in the neighborhood is a criminal. Her fondest memory of being in the area was feeling a sense of community. Samuels misses how everyone knew each other and looked out for one another.

“The whole community was a family,” said Samuels, “It is not something that you witness anymore.”

Samuels would like to see the Jane and Finch community revert to how it was when she was a child.

She wants more recreational options for kids besides basketball and track and field for example: horseback riding, gymnastics, and skating. “Just something different from the norm for that neighborhood,” she said.

Samuels shared with me about the time that she lost everything and ended up at a woman’s shelter. There she met other women who experienced the same issues. They were in a situation where all they needed was some help. Despite the challenges, Samuels overcame her homelessness by accepting the help she needed. Her time in a women’s shelter is what inspired her to want to give back.

The first giveback happened in December 2021 at the Driftwood Community Centre. She raised $7,500 for: gift cards, food, and clothing. Last year’s giveback happened at the Jane and Finch Mall and raised over $12,000. Samuels also volunteers with: Seva Food Bank, Young Bosses in Business, and Peel and Toronto Police.

It is important that we as a community recognize the work of someone like Karen Samuels; it is heroines like her that keep our community together.

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Chibie Louis-Okoye – Unapologetically sharing the African experience

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By  Sydnee Walcott

In an industry where there are not too many people of colour, one empowered woman is taking the correct steps toward standing out. Chibie Louis-Okoye is a thought-provoking Nigerian Canadian film producer who has received many accolades throughout her career.

Born and raised in Nigeria, Louis-Okoye’s upbringing had its good and bad moments, but she was happy for the most part and provided with everything she needed. Her parents encouraged her and her siblings to go to school and take on a professional path that would lead to a career with a stable income and go on to have a family.

“My parents worked very hard to take us to the best schools they could take us to,” said Louis-Okoye, whose parents wanted both her and her siblings to become something great in the future. Louis-Okoye studied at the University of Windsor as an international student, where she received a Degree in Communication. Afterward, she went to Queen’s University, where she studied innovation and entrepreneurship.

Her inspiration to be a film producer came from wanting to take back the power to create worlds and stories that can influence pop culture and people’s perspectives on how they see things on subjects they don’t know. With a gap in the content of African stories, Louis-Okoye realized the industry needs producers and storytellers to help close the gap. “Producing is all about honing the business side of the creative,” said Louis-Okoye, whose goal is to centre the African diaspora on the world stage through her company COLO Studios.

What Louis-Okoye enjoys the most about producing is the transformation of raw ideas into materialized content.  Yes of course there are other elements of her work that she enjoys (hiring a team, and raising funds), but her heart remains with the creative process. She describes it as making a dream come true. “I believe a film is a tool for activism,” said Louis-Okoye. Activism, politics, spirituality, the monarchy, and the impact of colonialism are some of the thought-provoking content people can find in films and television series produced by Louis-Okoye.

Her latest film, KOFA, is inspired by how the world has moved on after kidnappings in Nigeria and surrounding areas. The film also focuses on how it remains precarious in Nigeria.  KOFA (Louis-Okoye’s favourite project to date) is a psychological thriller that deals with people being locked in a room and waking up nude with no memories.

From the beginning, the plot beckons the watcher to question every character, understand motive, and question what will happen next. With elements of betrayal and finger pointing the film keeps viewers intrigued as they watch the group try to figure out how they ended up where they were. Throughout their drama, a male character continuously enters the room and takes them out one by one. Scared for their lives, the group tries to piece together their memories.

Louis-Okoye loves those topics, because she feels the viewers can put themselves in the character’s shoes and feel their emotions and what’s at stake for them. She describes this as a human condition, because sometimes people may feel trapped. It may not feel like a physical trap in a room, but it can be a physical trap in a career they don’t love and are only doing for economic purposes. “People can feel trapped mentally as well.” Louis-Okoye shared.

KOFA won the Best Feature Film at the African International Film Festival, and received two African Magic Viewer Choice Awards nominations. The film’s trailer also received an award for the best trailer in the African region at the 2023 World Trailer Awards in Portugal.

Louis-Okoye’s current project is a television series called The Third Coming, and she’s having the time of her life on the project. The series centres around what can happen if colonialism and imperialism were to come back to Africa in the present and how that would look.

Louis-Okoye would like to see her career take her back to Africa, where she can continue to tell stories relatable to Africans and have the world look at things through that lens. She also wants to collaborate with others to help tell those stories and provide a technical process for creating a film and television series. She also wants to collaborate with the greats in Hollywood and take some of their lessons and experiences. Her dream is to have COLO Studios maintain its vision of centring the African experiences on the world stage.

As Africans living in the diaspora, we have a strong, and notable impact on this planet, and creatives like Louis-Okoye are the ones who will stamp our impact in the minds of people for generations to come.

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Women Empowered

Trisha Smith Divine Essence, Healer and Mystic; Showing up as a better version of herself every day

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Marvin Morgan

By Simone J Smith

What happened to her was a living nightmare. It’s something that no young woman should have to go through. 

As I listened to her story, I thought to myself, “She is so strong, so loving and passionate about life. If she had not told me this, I would never know.”

This is why we do it. This is why the team at Toronto Caribbean Newspaper decided over 10 years ago to share the stories of Caribbean women who have historically been marginalized and underrepresented in various forms of media, including literature, film, and television. By telling their stories, we can provide representation and visibility to a group that has often been excluded. It allows other Caribbean women to see themselves reflected in narratives and helps to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions.

This week I am happy to be sharing the story of one of our writers, a woman who I admire, and whom I strongly believe will continue to be a source of wisdom and health to the Caribbean community here in Toronto, and across the diaspora. 

Our Woman Empowered is a renowned healer, and possesses great knowledge, skills, training, experience, empathy and compassion. Her personal experience with pain has contributed to her development of empathy and understanding. By trade she is a wellness consultant, but by her soul’s decree, she is a Divine Essence, Healer and Mystic who has been charged with the task to empower, awaken and inspire those who are led to work with her. She takes a full-circle approach to healing, incorporating all aspects of health to restore not only the body, but mind and soul as well.

She offers a unique and diverse perspective that contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the human experience. Her story will inspire individuals to overcome challenges, pursue their dreams, and contribute to a positive change in our world. I would like to introduce our Woman Empowered, Trisha Smith.

“I was born and raised in Toronto and my family moved to Brampton when I was much younger. That is where I spent most of my early life. I lived with my mom and dad until I was five years old, and then my parents split up. My parents were two different energies. My mom was a Christian and my dad was more street, you know the Caribbean man; he loved his drink, he loved the street, and he loved his weed.

The split was difficult for me because from when I can remember, I was a daddy’s girl all the way. He favored me, spoiled me, and loved me. He was my everything. That was my daddy. When he left, it impacted me. We went from a six-bedroom house to a shelter with bunk beds. It was a total 360 for me. This is when life took a turn for the worse, and for a while, life didn’t make sense to me.

I will never forget the day when my mother and I returned from Jamaica, and when we came back the house was empty. My dad had sold the house and moved out. It was a very traumatic experience for me. Even at a young age, what was happening seemed off.

We were in the shelter for six months, and then moved into housing. From six until 16, I was in housing. I still saw my dad, but things were just different. I hated going to see him. Once I got older, we grew apart; I don’t know if I reminded him of her, but he became very miserable. Our visits were always him questioning me and my siblings about what my mom was doing, it wasn’t about us. 

I watched my mom slave; I saw how difficult it was for her. Even though I was younger I saw this. I hardly saw mom, and I only saw her when we were going to church. She was very protective over me; I couldn’t have a boyfriend, I couldn’t go out, I couldn’t do anything.”

Trisha’s life became very tumultuous; at a young age she began to feel intense emotional pain that left her longing for connection.

“My mom met someone, and she left us. Yep, she just got up and left, and this is when life went haywire; I started to do everything that I wasn’t supposed to do. I ended up living with my dad again, but that was short lived. One day he came to my room, threw a suitcase on the ground and told me that I was going to live in New York with my mother. I had five days to get my life together and just like that I was living in the Bronx. I finished up the 10th grade in New York.

My mom’s husband did not like me at all; I guess I disturbed their no-child home, so before I knew it, I was being sent back to Canada. I didn’t tell my dad I was coming back, instead I went to live with my sister. I think my mom felt bad, so she came back to give me some kind of stability, so I was with her after that.” 

Trisha was developing as a woman, and her feeling of abandonment triggered a deep sense of rejection. She began to feel unworthy, unimportant by the people who were supposed to love her, and this led to self-doubt and diminished self-esteem. It also made her vulnerable to predators.

“I met a Rasta, and he changed my life. I was young and foolish, and I got caught up in him. Next thing I knew I was pregnant, and this man started to beat me. The abuse got worse, and Children’s Aid got involved. It was terrible. I was getting beaten twice a week. My mom actually caught him beating me, and she called the police. He finally got deported. 

Life was rough during that time, but it was the genesis of my healing journey. I attended Dominion Herbal College when I was with him. I became a vegetarian and got extremely sick, which led to me discovering the miracle of herbs. I wanted to learn more about my body, so I went to the Canadian School of Natural Medicine and graduated as a nutritionist. I found passion in holistic medicine.

One day my friend invited me to a fire ritual, and this is when everything changed. I learned about my ancestors, how to interact with nature, and learned about the elements. It opened up my eyes to more. I started to get more into African spirituality, and healing. When I met Malidoma, he taught me how to have a more intimate relationship with nature and then I began creating my own concoctions. This is how Adero Herbals was born. I vended all over the city for 10 years, conducted workshops and helped many women through my nutritional consultations.” 

Her second evolution was in Las Vegas when she went to a workshop seminar led by Dr Mitchell Gibson, and his wife Kathy Gibson (Solar Rejuvenation). 

“He gave us practices that involved rituals around the sun. He spoke about evolution, the soul, the spirit, and how we interact with the spirit world. It was level up for me. I came home and I couldn’t do the rituals, and this upset me. I wanted a way out of the life that I had created. I stopped smoking weed and began to focus on my healing.

I decided to go back to school. I went to Humber College and got my Marketing Diploma, and I started writing. I had always been a writer; it was in me. I started sharing stories in Reggae Exclusive, and other publications. I revamped my business to Sakred Synergi and introduced a new line of tonics and began doing guided meditations and writing eBooks all centered around mental health and women’s health. I am proud to say that I also got my certifications in Reiki and Life Coaching. 

My healing journey is still a process and has me working on a shadow work course where I will teach women in a step by step process how to heal from trauma and pain. 

I love water in all its forms, deep walks off the trail in the forest, metaphysics, jazz and reggae music, clubs and comedy. Yes! This Gemini embraces her dual nature, and I am always down for adventure and trying new things! Drag racing is next on my list!

My four children keep me on my toes and challenge me to show up as a better version of myself every day.” 

http://www.sakredsynergi.com/

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